Balcony Stargazing

[Kerbalsaurus]

For Christmas, I got a new telescope. And I really really wanted to get a picture of the Moon with it. The only issue is, there hasn't been much clear weather where I live. Until today. And I got a fantastic view. I could see the craters, shimmering in the lunar sunset, the blast debris around two others. Lines through the seas, tiny little craters. Everything the Moon's known for, I saw. Unfortunately, the camera of a phone can't get an image as good as the human eye, but whatever. Here's a little snippet of what I saw.

Edited May 7, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Shpaget]

Nice. You'll get bettter view in a few days as the terminator moves across the surface and the craters cast nicer shadows.

[Kerbalsaurus]

I just realized, Mars is visible where I live right now! However, it’d be hard to capture a picture of it. My phone could get a picture of the Moon through a telescope lens, because it’s big and bright and easy to focus on. But Mars is much different. I’ll try though. Perhaps I might have a picture of Mars!

[Kerbart]

38 minutes ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

I just realized, Mars is visible where I live right now! However, it’d be hard to capture a picture of it. My phone could get a picture of the Moon through a telescope lens, because it’s big and bright and easy to focus on. But Mars is much different. I’ll try though. Perhaps I might have a picture of Mars!

Get the Sky Guide app for your phone - it'll make it easy to find the planets. After some practice you'll be able to spot them without any help, my wife is always surprised how blind-as-a-bat me can point out Jupiter, Venus and Mars in the sky without any problems. ("How do you know it's Mars?" It's red!)

 

[Ryaja]

23 hours ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

For Christmas, I got a new telescope. And I really really wanted to get a picture of the Moon with it. The only issue is, there hasn't been much clear weather where I live. Until today. And I got a fantastic view. I could see the craters, shimmering in the lunar sunset, the blast debris around two others. Lines through the seas, tiny little craters. Everything the Moon's known for, I saw. Unfortunately, the camera of a phone can't get an image as good as the human eye, but whatever. Here's a little snippet of what I saw.

What telescope did you get?

[Kerbalsaurus]

30 minutes ago, Ryaja said:

What telescope did you get?

A Celestron.

[Ryaja]

24 minutes ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

A Celestron.

But which model?

[Kerbalsaurus]

21 hours ago, Ryaja said:

But which model?

I don’t know! I’m a high schooler, not a professional astronomer!

[AlamoVampire]

Would you be able to show us a picture of your scope? 
181301112023

[Ryaja]

1 hour ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

I don’t know! I’m a high schooler, not a professional astronomer!

Check the box, but I am also a high schooler, and I can tell you that you either have a refractor or a reflector with a cheap eyepiece based on the artifacts of the picture.

[Kerbalsaurus]

2 hours ago, Ryaja said:

Check the box, but I am also a high schooler, and I can tell you that you either have a refractor or a reflector with a cheap eyepiece based on the artifacts of the picture.

Sorry to yell at you . The model of the telescope is, uhh… *frantically looks around telescope* Celestron Travel Telescope model #21035. The Moon’s image was actually very good, just a camera as light sensitive as an iPhone’s couldn’t get same good picture through a telescope lens as the human eye.

Oh yeah, the eyepieces are interchangeable. In order to get a really up close picture of the Moon, I used a 10mm magnification eyepiece.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Ryaja]

1 minute ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

Sorry to yell at you . The model of the telescope is, uhh… *frantically looks around telescope* Celestron Travel Telescope model #21035. The Moon’s image was actually very good, just a camera as light sensitive as an iPhone’s couldn’t get same good picture through a telescope lens as the human eye.

No, it's not the quality but if you look at the edge of bright object the refractor will cause a color change like this:

but it looks like a pretty nice scope! And you can carry it!

[AlamoVampire]

@Kerbalsaurus decent little refractor you have there! Happy viewing and clear skies!

213701112023

@Ryaja chromatic aberration is a problem for most refractors unless they are apochromatic but thats a whole new beast. 

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Edited January 12, 2023 by AlamoVampire

[Ryaja]

49 minutes ago, AlamoVampire said:

@Ryaja chromatic aberration is a problem for most refractors unless they are apochromatic but thats a whole new beast. 

Thats how you spell it! I knew the word but not the spelling.

[Kerbalsaurus]

So I've continued to observe the sky, and I've been trying to observe Venus. And I've seen it. Or, I think I have. I'm not sure if it's Venus. Because around this time of year a bunch of other bright stars are in the night sky. Specifically tonight it's Capella. It's also very prominent in the sky, and is the 6^th, brightest object in the sky. So is this a star or Venus?

The object in the sky at 9:33pm EST

Through a telescope (damn you iPhone camera)

Map of the two objects in the sky

Edited May 7, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Little 908]

1 hour ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

So I've continued to observe the sky, and I've been trying to observe Venus. And I've seen it. Or, I think I have. I'm not sure if it's Venus. Because around this time of year a bunch of other bright stars are in the night sky. Specifically tonight it's Capella. It's also very prominent in the sky, and is the 6^th, brightest object in the sky. So is this a star or Venus?

The object in the sky at 9:33pm EST

Through a telescope (damn you iPhone camera)

Map of the two objects in the sky

That looks fun!

[SunlitZelkova]

On 5/6/2023 at 7:23 PM, Kerbalsaurus said:

So I've continued to observe the sky, and I've been trying to observe Venus. And I've seen it. Or, I think I have. I'm not sure if it's Venus. Because around this time of year a bunch of other bright stars are in the night sky. Specifically tonight it's Capella. It's also very prominent in the sky, and is the 6^th, brightest object in the sky. So is this a star or Venus?

The object in the sky at 9:33pm EST

Through a telescope (damn you iPhone camera)

Map of the two objects in the sky

It's hard to tell, but if it has a phase, it's Venus.

Does yours have a laser scope you can use to specifically point the telescope at things? If so, you should be able to tell which of the two objects you are looking at. Then use Time and Date's Night Sky website to figure out which is which. It provides a nice, "eye-realistic" view of the sky. You will just need a compass to make sure you are pointing in the right direction and it should be easy to tell what's what because it shows objects based on their brightness.

[MythicalHeFF]

On 5/6/2023 at 10:23 PM, Kerbalsaurus said:

So I've continued to observe the sky, and I've been trying to observe Venus. And I've seen it. Or, I think I have. I'm not sure if it's Venus. Because around this time of year a bunch of other bright stars are in the night sky. Specifically tonight it's Capella. It's also very prominent in the sky, and is the 6^th, brightest object in the sky. So is this a star or Venus?

The object in the sky at 9:33pm EST

Through a telescope (damn you iPhone camera)

Map of the two objects in the sky

Whichever object of the two you’re observing is brighter is almost certainly Venus, as it has an apparent magnitude of about -4. That is almost three magnitudes brighter than even Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, with a magnitude of -1.3. Capella, for comparison, has an apparent magnitude of just about zero. 

[StrandedonEarth]

IMO there's no mistaking Venus, it's just so brilliant. A bright star chasing the Sun down, just after sunset (or before sunrise, but right now it's in Evening Star mode), visible long before any other stars: yeah, that's Venus. The only one that comes close is Jupiter, which can be visible any time of night.